1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to online transactions. More particularly, the invention is an enhanced system and method for carrying out online transactions and/or distributing awards using a xe2x80x9cgamingxe2x80x9d transaction handler.
2. The Prior Art
The use of the global information network known as the Internet as a medium for carrying out sales transactions (i.e. online transactions) is known. The popularity of the Internet with home and business computer users has provided a market opportunity to provide transaction mechanisms for such Internet users. Retailers, for example, have launched xe2x80x9conline catalogsxe2x80x9d via Web pages as an alternative (or additional) means for selling their products or services to their customers.
Many times, retailers will offer xe2x80x9cSpecial Dealsxe2x80x9d to online consumers as an incentive to utilize their online catalog or services. Typically, the retailer does not advertise these specials to consumers; instead, a consumer is rewarded by visiting the Web site on their own accord. One method that may be utilized to offer these xe2x80x9cSpecial Dealsxe2x80x9d to a larger population is described herein. Whereby an online population may be selectively invited to participate in online games. The participants may then be awarded prizes such as discounts, rebates, or goods in association with participating in these online games.
Recently, online games have gained popularity with Internet users. For example, game users who purchase a game whose source code has been designed to allow multiple participants to connect over the internet may join together and work as teams to defeat either an opposing team or a computer player. Additionally, many of these games allow members of each team to communicate while playing the game, but the game actions are then carried out individually. Additionally, participants must actively seek out a game to participate in once they have accessed a network such as the Internet. Additionally, most games require a small number of participants, and cannot be played by a population of arbitrary size.
The Internet also hosts many other games that may be competitive, noncompetitive, and cooperative. Such games must be initiated by users who are actively seeking out game play on the internet.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus that provides for selection of game participants among a larger percentage of people who communicate through a network.
Additionally, there is a need for an apparatus that provides for an online game that allow games designed for a small number of participants to be played by a large pool of participants.
Additionally, there is a need for an apparatus that provides for an online game that can be played by a population of arbitrary size.
Additionally, there is a need for an apparatus that provides for an online game that may be played asynchronously.
Further still, there is a need for an apparatus that provides for a online game that allows a population to participate through a single action.
The present invention satisfies these needs, as well as others, and generally overcomes the deficiencies found in the background art.
The present invention is a system and method for carrying out enhanced online gaming. The online game system comprises an interface module operatively coupled for communication with a transaction handler. In general, the operations of the interface module together with the transaction handler provide an online game system in which participants of the system may engage in game play.
The interface module provides an interface between participants of the online game. In particular, the interface module manages communication requests from the participants (gamers, host system) of the system as described below more fully. The interface module further manages communication between the participants of the system, such as, when one participant sends a communication to another participant.
The transaction handler defines a set of xe2x80x9cmovesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cactionsxe2x80x9d that may be carried out by the participants of the system. In particular the transaction handler allows the selection of participants who are to participate in the online game, messaging between participants, game moves, and game outcomes. As described more fully below the selection of participants may be chosen based upon some arbitrary data that has been collected from online participants, or may be from an alternative source. Likewise, the participants may affect the outcome of the game through the use of messaging between and among participants of the game.
Examples of such online game systems are: Matching games, Community Games, Population games, and One-Click games.
Matching games are designed whereby the participants are chosen based upon some pre-selected criteria such as spending habits or other similar demographic information and invited to participate in an online game, thereby allowing manufacturers and resellers to target specific groups of online participants. The game characteristics and the type of awards may be matched with the characteristics of the participants, in order to provide a more challenging and entertaining gaming experience. Furthermore, some characteristics of the potential opponents may be revealed to the participants as they are invited to play the game, in order to entice them to accept the challenge to participate in the online game.
A second type of an online game is a Community game. Community games are designed to allow participants to come together in an online environment and compete for awards. The players are partitioned into at least one team, thereby allowing a variable number of players to compete in games designed for a fixed number of players. Additionally, each team is provided with a mechanism for deliberating a joint action. The deliberation mechanism may include support for messaging, as well as voting capabilities. Examples of community games, which will be described in more detail below, are Visual Puzzle games and Team Trivia games.
A third embodiment of an online game that may be played is Population games. Population games are games that are infinitely scaleable, thereby allowing a population of arbitrary size to participate in the game. The outcome of a Population game depends on the individual moves of the participants, and on aggregate measures. Aggregate measures may be defined as the percentages of players"" moves in the population.
Alternatively, the aggregate measures may be defined by past participants moves which are generated from a game that has already been played. The past participants moves are stored in a database that is operatively coupled to the gaming module of the online game system, whereby after each game the moves of the participants are stored for use in the next game.
For example, a participant in the Population game may choose xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d, the participant""s choice of xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d is compared against the database to determine the percentage of participants who had chosen xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d. If the participant""s choice of xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d falls below a pre-determined percentage than the participant receives an award, if the participant""s choice is greater than a pre-determined percentage, then the participant may receive nothing.
Alternatively, the award may be reduced by a pre-determined amount or changed depending upon the percentage of participants who chose xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d in the past games. For example, if the participant""s choice is xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d and forty-five percent of the past players chose xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d the participant receives an award, if sixty percent of past participants chose xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d then the participant would receive a lesser award or possibly no award at all.
One-Click games allow participants of an online game to play asynchronously. Additionally, a One-Click game allows the participants to fully participate in the online game through a single action selected from a plurality of available moves.
The invention further relates to machine-readable media on which are stored the embodiments of the present invention. It is contemplated that any media suitable for retrieving instructions is within the scope of the present invention. By way of example, such media may take the form of magnetic, optical, or semiconductor media. The invention also relates to data structures that contain embodiments of the present invention, and to the transmission of data structures containing embodiments of the present invention.
Objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the preferred embodiment of the invention without placing limitations thereon.